There are 5 basic and underestimated tools which I recommend business owners to use weekly for better control of their online business.
1. Google Search Console
Google Search Console can help you to find the following information about your website:
How often your site appears in Google Search?
Which search queries show your site?
How often searchers click through for those queries?.
Which sites link to your website?
Which pages of your website don’t appear on Google and why?
Receive alerts when Google encounters indexing, spam, or other issues on your site.
Web: https://search.google.com/search-console/about
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a logical extension of Google Search Console which will help you to find answers to a broader variety of questions.
Who are the visitors of your website?
How do they find you? Google Search is only one way they can find your website.
How do they behave on your website? What pages they visit?
What promo tools/activities give you more sales?
Properly setup Google Analytics can help you to trace back each online sale. How did you receive a customer? How much did he spend? What did he buy?
Web: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/
3. Google My Business
Even if your business doesn’t have a location which customers can visit I would still recommend to make Google My Business account. It will bring you many advantages but from control perspective it has one important reason to have it.
Google My Business page can be created by Google automatically even if you don’t want to have it. Users will be able to leave a review there and give your business 1-5 stars score.
The only way to control the reviews is to control your Google My Business account.
Besides that you will be able to see how many people called to your business phone number and asked for directions to your location.
Web: https://www.google.com/business/
4. SEMrush.com (Paid – 15 days free)
Before you decide to hire SEO specialist or pay for any promo activities I recommend to pay to SEMrush instead. They have 15 days free for testing and I bet you will understand why recommend it. (SEMrush doesn’t pay me for this recommendation – unfortunately)
There are 2 main questions SEMrush will help you to find the answer:
1.Why am I not on the first page of Google?
2. What my competitors do to be on the first page of Google?
SEMrush is a little bit complicated to use but once you start you will understand the basics within couple of hours.
Web: https://semrush.com
5. Accounts of Social Networks
You need to have access to social networks your business have: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Quora, Instagram, Youtube, etc.
There are 2 basic reasons for that:
1. You will be able to control over the reactions of your customers to your services/products.
2. It can give you a lot of ideas for further directions of your business development.
